Beau

"I don't get how it can get away without having some sort of measure of the internal temperature" I dont know how your system works but I know our GSHP monitors flow and return temps on the heating circuit so I guess it can extrapolate from that. We have no internal thermostat influence on our GSHP or ASHP systems and they both keep the buildings at very steady temps once you get the curve right.

In my experience, kiln-dried constructional timber is not dried to the same extent as hardwoods. I’m a furniture maker, log seller, and miller by trade, and when buying in hardwoods for furniture they are dried to around 8–10%, which is close to what they will sit at in an average home. When I’ve tested construction softwoods, they’re normally in the 16–20% range, so they will shrink and warp more if used inside the heated envelope, but are fine for external use as is. Worth noting that even though it’s a pain buying in timber that’s been soaked by the rain, it will quickly dry back to its kiln-dried moisture content, as this water is not bound in the cells of the wood. Getting it from 16–20% down to 8–10% for the home can be a slow process, but softwoods dry more quickly than hardwoods. As mentioned, the wood in the DIY sheds is often much drier due to its storage environment, but also much more warped and twisted, as it’s dried beyond what you get at the builders’ merchants.

We are only half a mile from the open moor so no temptation for anyone to camp in our fields. They can legally camp on Dartmoor, well most of it anyway.

OK so I've done a fair bit more sanding with no more shocks. Got it neater with the wire running inside the extraction hose. Markharrow if you want a length of the fencing wire I can send you some as we have lots of this laying about as we upgraded to heavier duty electric fencing on the farm.

So I may have a solution but it's not exactly neat. Went out to the shed to find some 1mm twin and earth to raid the earth wire and then spotted this. It's flexible electric fence wire. I was still getting light zaps until I threaded the tail into the pipe. Not had a shock had for the last half hour. Suspect the wire could just be only inside the hose and come out by the Henry and still work. Tied it off to a rad.

Hi all. I'm doing a bit of drywall work and I'm using the Mirka Handy sander with dust extraction to fair it. I keep getting hefty electric shocks from the extractor hose that are really unpleasant. I presume its electrostatic building up in the hose but do you have any bright ideas how to avoid this? This is the tool and its plugged into a Henry https://www.mirka.com/en-gb/p/Hand-Sanding-Kit-HANDY-80x230mm/

The stuff made for bonding doesn't expand much like Sudal plasterboard adhesive?

This is how I did our bathroom. 50 PIR bonded to wall with plasterboard PU foam. Then used the foam to fix the plasterboard to the PIR. Drilled through the whole lot with a 5mm masonry drill bit. Used long plasterboard screws (larger heads) with the yellow plugs to fix it back in a few places. If the head of the screw was going to pull through the paper I would use the large stainless washers already mentioned. I dont see that much extra fixing is required as the top is locked into the ceiling when it's all skimmed and the weight is resting on the floor. I tested the bond strength of the PU foam with a small piece of PIR and the lime plaster came off my walls before the foam failed

I dont know if they still do it but when we built our place we used Chelmer Heating who did a design and supply for self installation. 18 years later its still working fine.

I fit solid wood worktops from time to time and always go for a butt joint. On a top of 600mm + you are probably going to get a fair bit of movement so this needs to be allowed for. I use some biscuits to keep alignment often glueing the ones near the front leaving the movement to happen at the back of the top but this depends on other things like up stands etc. Also some worktop connectors on the underside to keep the joint tight. Any mitre on solid wood will most likely open up over time as expansion or shrinkage causes the angle of the wood to change. You can do any desired moulding on the completed worktop with a router.

Much the same as John with a mix of Makita and DeWalt. I've been a bit underwhelmed with the Titan SDS drills torque considering it's weight but for the money its great.

You can get replacement motors for a lot less than a new unit if nothing else is wrecked

Our 7kw model has not suffered any drop in pressure in normal running but we've only had it a year. I hadn't noticed it mentioned on the owners group but then I've not been looking out for it either.

For those of us in very exposed locations when is the water going to get out? We get periods were you get several months were it rains most days and walls hang wet throughout. Our barn was like this and after a few weeks of wet weather the water would run down the inside of the wall. Ended up tanking the inside and lime pointing the outside which worked perfectly. John I have no magic answers sadly. On my workshop which has porous render and pointing I used some Thompsons water seal. It worked for 4 or 5 years but now needs doing again Old buildings can be a PITA

Just done a couple of new showers in our place. I put the tray on the ply with no tanking, because as you say, water really shouldn't be getting to it anyway. Also, I didn’t want the flooring in while I'm still bashing around with shower panels, toilet pans, etc. Fixed the tray down with OB1, which is much like CT1, and used some levelling packers as the floor was not quite perfect. I had a Mapei tanking kit but had problems, as the tape wouldn't stick to the shower tray — remedied it with more CT1. I had enough tanking to cover the whole area, not just the joins, so I did the whole area anyway. Having used these tanking kits in our old place nearly 20 years ago and never having a leak, I trust them.

Could be the old Hep20 fittings. I will look in our odds and ends bin to compare as I think I have some laying about

Just popping back to this now we have the heating on. I'm pleased to say the replacement of these sections of pipe has made the system much quieter. Not silent but not intrusive like it was before

We had a nightmare trying to organise a new line through BT but in the end got it done through the Post Office. I see they have sold that part of their business to Shell Energy who might be able to sort your new connection. I think Openreach do the work regardless but Openreach were not the problem in our case. We are in a rural area with poor telephone lines. Some have gone for Starlink and others Airband. We went with Airband based on price and no Elon Musk but not sure how widely available their service is

News to me. I have the 'Handbook of Hardwoods' an HMSO publication. These are oaks in it. American Red American White European Holm Japanese Turkey I always find it amusing that Balsa is a hardwood though

The last one sprung a sudden leak making a right old mess. Probably 15 years old at the time. Had a second hand one laying about which I popped in. I stumbled on a thread somewhere with lots of guys saying new ones were rubbish and only lasting 5-7 years. Good to hear maybe they are not as bad as that thread made me think. Yes the system has inhibitor on it

We are losing pressure on our GSHP based UFH system. I have been unable to find any leaks so guessing its the expansion vessel which is an old second hand one anyway. Is it worth splurging on a stainless replacement as I hear the steel ones have a pretty short life these days? Thanks

Our ground looked appalling but on the recommend of a friendly landscaper we seeded it up. Within a season a we had a lovely green lawn. Honestly I could not believe how well grass could grow on what was basically subsoil.

In which case whats the point? Silicone works just looks poor when it has to be thick, least it does when I do it haha

Nice idea if it works. I hate sealing around toilet pans and it never looks good

Yep, go for high cast acrylic. Perspex yellows quite quickly IME and polycarbonate is mighty expensive and doesn't have the same clarity.